Christie in Johnston: ‘We’ll surprise in Iowa’

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JOHNSTON, Iowa - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie told supporters at his campaign headquarters in Johnston Friday morning he would use his "strong" debate performance from Thursday night to his advantage in the final days leading up to the Iowa caucuses.

"I felt really good about the answers we gave," he said. "I felt good most particularly because we answered the questions we were asked. And what drives me crazy about those things is that people get up on stage, they don't like the question they were asked and they think that you're really not listening and think you're at home distracted by the potato chips, or a phone call, and they don't realize that you listen, the people in Iowa listen."

Christie hosted a send-off rally Friday morning before heading to four separate town halls across the state. His campaign says he plans to hit "all four corners" of Iowa between now and Monday night. Seeking to separate himself from his competitors, the governor told voters he's most qualified for the role of president because his current role is so similar.

"So when I sit in the chair of the Oval Office for the first time in January 2017, I won't spin around in the chair and say, 'Gee wiz isn't it good I'm President?' It will feel familiar, it will feel like the one I'm in right now," he said. "Just a little bigger, and a little more important - but it's the same decision-making process."

Attacking his competitors was only done for a moment, however; Christie says the focus should remain on Hillary Clinton.

"The most important thing is Hillary Clinton," he said. "We cannot take our eye off the ball. And so last night, I kept trying to bring us back to that point, which is, you know, it's fine if Marco Rubio has changed his position on immigration - I just wish he'd admit it. It's fine if Ted Cruz has changed his position on immigration - admit it. But those changes, those differences, are minor, compared to the differences we have with Hillary Clinton."